Peninsula diplomat: My second life with a top celebrity

Chapter 40 Feeling Uneasy

Zheng Daoxun pushed Ya Xian around the neighborhood.

The air at night carried the lingering dampness of the rain, making it feel even more muggy.

Ya-Hsien wore a mask and a baseball cap the entire time, covering almost her entire face. Actually, this can be quite stuffy, as the lower half of the face is covered by the mask, and the hot, damp breath she exhales sticks to her skin.

Ya-Hsien tilted her head back and glanced at him sideways from under the brim of her hat. "Oppa, I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

How many relationships have you had before?

This question came somewhat suddenly, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Zheng Daoxun rummaged through his memory for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a name. "Sophia. A French female journalist I met when I was stationed at the United Nations."

Actually, the first name that popped into his mind was Sana Minatozaki.

But this answer does not belong to this time and space.

"A Frenchman?" Ya Xian raised her head, her eyes fixed on him. "Blonde hair and blue eyes are so much better, why don't you continue the conversation?"

Zheng Daoxun raised his hand and lightly flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!" Ya-xian clutched her forehead, feigning pain, and complained with a grimace, "Why did you hit me so hard!"

Zheng Daoxun ignored her and pushed her forward.

His relationship with Sofia wasn't really a formal romance at all—

He was working non-stop in the preparatory group for the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and his focus was entirely on his work. His so-called romance with Sofia was nothing more than a fleeting passion while things were still fresh.

The significance of this relationship was probably that it confirmed one thing for him: he didn't necessarily have to be in a romantic relationship.

But there's no need to explain these things to Ya-Hsien, and I don't know where to begin.

Ya Xian's head was filled with a multitude of questions, all in a daze.

She was concerned about the Fang sisters who came to visit her home today, and about Huang Lizhi, who had shown her too much kindness.

She also wondered if this sibling relationship, which didn't have much of a foundation, would one day become insignificant and distant in Zheng Daoxun's increasingly grand and magnificent world.

Ever since she accidentally stumbled upon her parents' secret when she was a child, Zheng Yaxian had always known that the man named Daoxun would one day return to the world he belonged to.

But... this is too heavy a burden for a young girl, so heavy that she might not even have learned to play the role of a younger sister before Jung Do-hoon leaves her side.

If she could, she would want a relationship like that of Pharita and her brother—so ordinary that they disliked each other yet were destined to be close.

But reality told her that Jung Do-hoon would not stay for anyone, and that more and more people would try to enter his world.

Of course, Ya-Hsien was unaware of Minatozaki Sana's existence at this moment, and Jung Do-hoon was not someone who would never stay for anyone.

"Oppa..."

hum...

Ya Xian's voice rang at the same time as the phone rang. Zheng Daoxun hung up the phone and asked softly, "I'm sorry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... Was it a girl who called?"

"If it were a girl calling, I would hang up without hesitation even more." Zheng Daoxun smiled; he always sensed that Ya Xian had something on her mind. "It's something about work."

Actually, being reborn is quite wonderful; it allows you to relive your youth and experience possibilities you never had before.

If he hadn't returned to Seoul two years earlier and started living together with Ah-hyun, their relationship would have quickly warmed up, and Jung Do-hoon wouldn't have experienced being relied upon by Ah-hyun.

"Work is important, you should answer the phone quickly~" Ya Xian shook her head and advised Zheng Daoxun not to worry about her: "I'll play with the wheelchair for a while."

"Take care of yourself." Zheng Daoxun said helplessly, and then dialed the number back.

The caller was Kim Jin-ah, Jung Do-hoon's direct superior and the Second Vice Minister of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also known as the third-in-command.

Ms. Kim Jin-ah was born in 1979. She was previously a professor specializing in European and American culture and journalism. Two years ago, she was specially appointed as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

She was a very beautiful and elegant woman, but unfortunately, two years have passed and most outsiders still only see her glamorous appearance.

"Jung Do-hoon, you dare not answer my call?" Kim Jin-ah joked. "How's your sister's foot?"

"Minister, Ya-hsien is doing well..." Jung Do-hoon glanced at Ya-hsien, who was maneuvering her wheelchair and trying to walk straight along the tactile paving, but then wobbled and almost crashed into a tree, and couldn't help but smile.

I should have known better than to rent her the electric wheelchair.

"It's just a little...worrying."

"That's how girls are at this age. Anyway, back to the point, you're pretty shrewd. You went to Indonesia and got all the passports of Korean celebrities back, but you left a little loophole."

Jung Do-hoon knew that this little tail referred to the passport of the Japanese entertainer.

It's often said that comparisons are the thief of joy, and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is certainly under considerable pressure right now.

If South Korea also fails to handle the stranded crisis well, then everything will be peaceful, and everyone can just follow the diplomatic procedures step by step.

However, the fact that Japanese celebrities are now stranded in Indonesia has caused a huge uproar on social media. Even in Japan, where the information cocoon is extremely serious, many posts and news reports have emerged criticizing the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attracting netizens in surrounding countries to watch the drama unfold.

This further enhanced the reputation of Jeong Do-hoon and the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However... if we consider Zheng Daoxun's true intentions, even if he had no intention of continuing the relationship from his previous life, he did not want to see Minatozaki Sana stranded alone in Indonesia, unable to return home.

The two of them just regrettably couldn't stay together until the end; it wasn't a deep-seated grudge.

"Minister Zhao saw your work and just praised you to me." Kim Jin-ah changed the subject, "But after all, these artists are still working in Korea, and we can't really just stand by and watch."

Getting the passport back isn't difficult; it simply requires smoothing things over between the Indonesian tax authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For Zheng Daoxun, it's just a matter of asking again.

"But..." Zheng Daoxun still had some concerns.

"Please do the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs a favor and help them get their passports back. We've already exchanged views on this bilaterally, so you don't need to worry about the authorization."

"Okay, I'll get on it right now."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Daoxun, who was a very efficient person and had no concerns about the procedures, immediately called Counselor Jin Yongxian.

Kim Yong-seon had previously accompanied Jeong Do-hoon to social events and knew the Indonesian officials.

"...Just do as I say." Zheng Daoxun explained the points he needed to pay attention to.

Jung Do-hoon essentially gave up his favors with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his achievements in helping Japanese artists retrieve their passports to Kim Young-seon.

"Dohoon, you're practically handing me the sales figures, why don't you go yourself?" Kim Young-seon laughed heartily on the other end of the phone.

"Senior, you've helped me a lot, I can't just keep it all to myself."

"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who eats everything and then doesn't throw it up. Thanks!"

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Daoxun followed Ya Xian's steps and gripped the wheelchair handle again. He noticed that Ya Xian's temples were already soaked with sweat, and a few strands of hair were sticking wetly to her cheeks.

She'd been wearing a mask and hat for so long, clearly uncomfortable, but she hadn't mentioned going back once.

"Wait a minute." He parked his wheelchair at the convenience store entrance, went inside and bought a small neck fan, which he hung around Ya Xian's neck. He pressed the switch, and a soft buzzing sound rang out as cool air blew out from the two small fan blades.

Ya Xian smiled, her eyes narrowing, but her heart grew heavier with worry.

Back home, Zheng Daoxun stayed with Ya Xian in the room for a while. After confirming that her eyelids were starting to droop, he turned the bedside lamp to its dimmest setting and closed the door.

Ya Xian turned over and mumbled something, something like "goodnight," but he couldn't hear her clearly.

Jung Do-hoon leaned back on the sofa, took out his phone, and dialed Bae Soo-ji's number.

The phone rang for quite a while, so long that he thought it was going to be switched to voicemail, before the other end finally answered.

"I'm going to sleep." Bae Suzy's voice carried a lazy quality, as if she had been woken up, with the last syllable drawn out, but there was no real impatience in her tone.

If you listen carefully, you can detect a subtle, almost imperceptible hint of happiness.

"Dohoon-ssi, what's up?"

"Didn't we agree before?" Jung Do-hoon said, "I'll come find you after I've thought through what I want to say."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then, a slight rustling sound came through—

She probably turned over in bed.

Bae Suzy switched the phone to her other ear, sank deeper into the pillow, closed her eyes, but a slight smile curved her lips.

"Hmm... I'm a little sleepy." She yawned, her voice muffled. "Let's save it for tomorrow? Goodnight~"

The call was disconnected.

Jung Do-hoon looked at the call log that had jumped back to the main screen on his phone and smiled silently.

Bae Suzy is quite good at pleasing people's appetites.

He stopped worrying about it, got up, took a shower, changed into his pajamas, and collapsed onto the bed.

Bae Suzy, on the other hand, kept her eyes wide open, showing no signs of sleepiness.

A thin, narrow beam of light shone through the gap in the curtains onto the ceiling, and she stared at it for a long time. Then she turned over and pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

Why can't I get sleepy?

Sana Minatozaki, who is far away in Indonesia, is also having trouble sleeping.

She tossed and turned in bed several times, rolling back and forth from left to right.

Not being able to sleep was one thing, but what troubled her most was something else entirely.

She hasn't had that precognitive dream for two days in a row.

For a while, it happened every day, though sometimes it was intermittent and sometimes it was so detailed that she could sleep for ten hours straight.

But at least I always dream. But these past two days, it seems like everything has disappeared…

It was as if that dream world, or rather, parallel world, had suddenly closed the door on her.

Why?

Sana Minatozaki sat up, propped a pillow up behind her back, and hugged her knees.

The room was quiet, with the occasional sound of motorcycles rattling outside the window.

These past two days, she deliberately immersed herself in shopping and entertainment to kill time during her boring time in Indonesia.

The effect was pretty good, and she had a lot of fun, but the price was... she stopped having those precognitive dreams.

Why?

After using the method of controlling variables and going through round after round of elimination, she couldn't help but think of Zheng Daoxun.

Is it a coincidence?

She picked up her phone and opened the browser. When she typed in "郑道卛" (Zheng Daoxun),

When the search results appeared, she checked his social media account and saw that he already had tens of thousands of followers.

Jung Do-hoon's SNS account is frequently updated; just the night before last, he uploaded a Spanish listening and reading video.

Scrolling down, you can see photos of Jung Do-hoon uploading himself from about three years ago.

This guy really has a naturally youthful face. At twenty-five, he looked no different from someone in their early twenties, except that he had a more mature demeanor.

She stared at the photo for a while, then exited the browser, placed her phone face down on the bedside table, lay back down, and closed her eyes.

Sleepiness still eluded her; Sana Minatozaki stared at the ceiling, continuously making deductions—

I think I started having those precognitive dreams after I met Jung Do-hoon;

And the period when these dreams were most intense was during the few days that Zheng Daoxun was in Indonesia;

After Jeong Do-hoon left Indonesia, these dreams gradually faded away...

If it's related to Jung Do-hoon, does that mean that these dreams are simply because I have such a deep impression of him?

As he faded from his life, those dreams also disappeared.

As expected, TikTok was right; there's no such thing as a precognitive dream, it's just...

It's just that Sana Minatozaki thinks Jung Do-hoon is not bad-looking and is suitable as a substitute for the male lead in her dreams.

I've been scrolling through Jung Do-hoon's SNS account intensively right now, and the impression is undeniably deep. If her deduction is correct, I should be having a precognitive dream tonight.

only……

When Sana Minato opened her eyes again, it was already daylight outside the window.

She blinked several times in a daze, her mind blank—she had scrolled through so many of Jung Do-hoon's social media posts last night, yet she hadn't even dreamt of him?

Could it be... that these dreams are related to the physical distance between Zheng Daoxun and the dreamer? And that there is a certain lag between them?

Was her reasoning wrong?

Sana Minatozaki stared at the ceiling, a strange tightness in her chest.

Verifying her new hypothesis is a difficult task. She can't just go back to Korea, make a special trip to see Jung Do-hoon, and then go home to sleep just to test what this dream is related to, can she?

This is outrageous! Jung Do-hoon would probably think she's crazy...

But why do I feel itchy and uneasy when I can't get verification?